


let the sun fade out to a dark sky

by thisfp



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, POV David, feat. david and patrick's classic kind of miscommunication, set in the ephemeral time between saying ily and patrick moving out of ray's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28971423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisfp/pseuds/thisfp
Summary: Patrick is getting ready for a three day business conference. This is, naturally, the perfect time for David to have a minor (but also pretty major) epiphany.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 48
Kudos: 233





	let the sun fade out to a dark sky

The first time that Patrick offers David a gummy candy, he takes it without question. It’s first thing in the morning (regardless of what Patrick says) and David’s just arrived at the store to be greeted with a kiss and a small red candy. Sure, it’s a little odd for his responsible boyfriend to be showering him with sweets (sprinkling, really) but it’s hardly the first time Patrick’s given him food without ulterior motive. Really, it’s just another reason that Patrick’s company is far superior to that of the carnies he’d left at the motel.

When Patrick offers him one again (yellow, this time) the next morning, well. Patrick is the best boyfriend. It continues without mention, a new ritual that they fold into greeting one another. It’s just another reason that he loves finding Patrick after a night apart, one of the many things he appreciates about waking up with Patrick even if it’s usually too early and Ray’s decorating choices make it all that much harder to open his eyes. Sometimes he’s tempted to ask where Patrick gets them so he can buy some for himself, can remove himself from the one-a-day rations Patrick had arbitrarily (and rather cruelly) decided for him back when this all began, but it feels like he may be breaking a spell. This is something that belongs to them, together, and though he’s seen through the phrase ‘abstinence makes the heart grow fonder’ since it first came up in the atrocious excuse of sex ed that passed at his school he can’t imagine that they’d taste this juicy if he could have them whenever he wanted, without Patrick sharing them from his secret stash. 

Besides, it’s nice to have a little mystery in their relationship. Sometimes, when his mind is already wandering, he tries to imagine where they come from. He pictures Patrick making them himself (he would be such a sexy confiseur) or stealing them (entirely unrealistic, but not entirely unsexy as a fantasy). On one particularly bleak day he wonders if it’s something he’d done with Rachel, but he manages to squash that pretty quickly (it helps that Patrick takes advantage of the morning lull and sings under his breath as he goes through inventory, which turns into an absurdly fun dance session when Whitney Houston makes her appearance). Mostly he just pictures Patrick thinking about him as he buys them, making sure to give him one regardless of whatever else they’re up to each morning.

Of course, if there’s one thing that David has learned in his life it’s that nothing lasts forever. It starts, as nothing good ever has, with Patrick deciding to go to a business conference. It’s the second one he’ll be attending since they opened the store (which, really, he doesn’t see how there could be that much to go over with such frequency but he knows he can’t complain unless he wants to risk Patrick making another powerpoint) but the last time was just some one day blip that hardly interfered with their regular schedule. This time Patrick will be out of town for three days. From Patrick’s excited mumbling about some seminar or other, it will be useful for the store, but it’s still the longest they’ve been apart.

It’s absurd, really. Yes, it’s the longest relationship he’s been in and yes, Patrick is a far better person than the sort he used to attract in his old life, but - he still shouldn’t feel like this. Right? He’s not worried that Patrick is going to cheat on him or come back and break up with him after meeting someone better or never come back at all, but there’s still a pull in his chest at the thought of three days without Patrick. Three days without the candy, without kisses, without the casual touches and not at all casual looks that make David light up like Champs-Élysées at Christmas. Three days of running the store by himself, left vulnerable to the town’s horrendous whims. 

He’s being mature about it, though. Mostly. He’s certainly not helping Patrick pack - he’s not some bored housewife, even if the floral wallpaper in here makes for an unfortunately appropriate backdrop for that setting - but neither is he actively hindering Patrick’s packing. He’s just sitting on the bed with his legs stretched out next to the half-full suitcase and watching his boyfriend meticulously pack the exact amount of clothes he’ll need for the trip. “That’s a lot of button-ups.”

Patrick offers him an utterly ridiculous grin as he uses his chin to pin the fourth blue button-up to his chest, folding it carefully. “Is it?”

He hums, transfixed in the lines formed across Patrick’s jaw, the softness he’s intimately familiar with. “Don’t you want to take a nice v neck? Maybe a Henley? Something that isn’t business-casual?”

“It’s a business conference, David.”

“I know that! But isn’t there going to be, like, a fun mixer? Something other than boring seminars?”

“Oh, yeah there is that speed dating event -”

“- What?!”

Patrick smirks at him. “I’m not really planning on socializing much, David. Unless this is your way of saying you want to come with me?”

“Ew, no.” He shakes his head emphatically, playing it up for the amused glint in Patrick’s gaze. “No, it’s just - this wardrobe is pretty monotonous.”

Patrick puts his hands on his hips. “Do you think I’m monotonous?”

“No, because I know you basically live to rile me up and I also know what you’re hiding under all of that polyester, but none of the people at the conference will get to see that.” He ignores the look Patrick sends him. “You’re going to be representing Rose Apothecary at this conference and so I think how you dress is really a creative business decision here? And we agreed that I’m in charge of that, so.”

"Oh, of course." Patrick folds his arms over his chest and nods in the very serious way that tells David he's about to be mocked ruthlessly. "So you want to dress me up? Is this like a workplace uniform thing or are you thinking about coordinating outfits? Or is this a sex thing?"

"Ew! This is not a sex thing, thank you." He sniffs and very carefully does not think about how stockings would look stretched around Patrick's glorious thighs. "I just want to make sure you're not going to accidentally mislead people about the vibe of our business."

Patrick sits down on the bed, settling against his thigh and fighting a smile. "Are you trying to say you want me to wear your clothes while I'm gone?"

"And let you try not to damage them in some crappy hotel? Absolutely not." He sighs and lets his head fall back against the headboard.

“But don’t you think it’s kind of unfair that you’re going to be here, surrounded by my stuff, and I’ll only have my memories of you to keep with me?”

He lifts his head to glare at his boyfriend, but most of the heat is lost when he realizes Patrick is looking at his neck. “I’m sorry, do you think Im going to be visiting Ray while you’re gone?”

Patrick shrugs. "I mean, Ray keeps you even better fed than I do."

It's not an invalid point. "Okay, but - do you think I come here for Ray?"

Patrick grins. "No, but he is a good friend and I know how hard it's going to be without me for a few days, so you know I have no problem with you coming over here if you want to watch some movies with Ray or hug one of my sweaters."

He rolls his eyes. He'd never have to come here to do that when Patrick's got a sweater hidden in the back of the store for colder days. Not that David's planning to do anything with it, or has ever gone in the back for a minute to smell the woodsy remnants of Patrick's cologne when he's working alone and their customers are being particularly horrid. "I'll survive, thanks. But," He shimmies his shoulders. "If you want to use tonight to make some new memories I wouldn't be opposed."

"Oh, you wouldn't be opposed. The four words every man wants to hear." Patrick waggles his eyebrows. He puts a hand on David’s thigh and leans in for a kiss, but he’s pulling away almost immediately, leaving David utterly bereft before he can react. The bastard. “Better make it good if I want you to make it the whole three days.”

"Mm, mmhm," He nods and puts a hand on Patrick's chest, pressing just enough to feel the firm muscle. "You could also leave some of that candy, if you want to help me through this difficult time."

To his great dismay, Patrick leans back. "What?"

"You know,” He slips his fingertips under the collar of Patrick’s shirt. “The candy that you give me every morning?"

Patrick raises his eyebrows. "You mean the vitamins?"

“Um, what?”

“The vitamin D gummies? The ones we have every morning.”

What the fuck. He searches Patrick’s face for any sign of - of anything, really - but he just blinks at David as if he’s somehow the confused one here. “You’ve been sneaking me vitamins?”

“Um, no? David, I told you they were vitamins. You’ve seen me take them before. From the bottle.” Patrick leans away and pulls a bottle from his nightstand which has the gummies and is labelled, quite clearly, in a bold, bright red font. “See?”

He does not. “Why the fuck have you been feeding me vitamins?”

“I - I thought you would like them? I’ve been taking them for a long time because it’s difficult to get enough naturally in the northern hemisphere, and I’ve never seen you take anything yourself, so - are you okay?”

He nods, more as a reflex than an accurate indicator of where he’s at (where is he at?). “Um, yeah, it’s just - vitamins.”

Patrick tilts his head, watching him far too closely (but not unkindly, never unkindly) for the way he’s reeling. “Care to elaborate?”

“No.” He huffs. Irritation claws at him under the weight of Patrick’s thoughtful gaze, turning all the sharper at how irrational he knows he’s being. “It’s just - vitamins are for the long term. You don’t take vitamins to be healthy next week, you take them so that you don’t, like, break a hip when you’re eighty.” 

Patrick nods. “Uh huh?”

“And you’re giving me vitamin D.”

Patrick nods again, a gentle smile pulling at his mouth. “So you’re freaking out because I don’t want you to break a hip when you’re eighty?”

“I’m not freaking out -” He says automatically as he continues to freak out. “- Also fuck you very much for implying that I would age.”

“Oh, my apologies.”

He bites his lip and takes a breath, watching Patrick’s steady gaze. “You’ve been thinking about that?”

“About you aging? No, never,” Patrick shakes his head. “You’re never going to age, you know that.”

He huffs. “Patrick.”

Patrick breathes a laugh and drops the bottle (of vitamins, they’re fucking vitamins) on the bed, pulling David’s hand into his lap. He splays it open and thumbs along David’s heart line without any idea of what he’s doing, of the way he constantly knocks the breath out of David. “You know this isn’t some subtle proposal, right? I’m not - this isn’t meant to be any extra commitment than we’ve already made.”

Lightning goes off in his chest, a cacophonous crash that makes his pulse roar in his ears. They haven’t - they’ve never talked about the p word. They’ve never talked about the long-term, about anything more concrete than booking workshops in the store a couple months in advance. But Patrick is feeding him vitamins. “No, I - I know.”

“I do want you to stay in good health, though. Regardless of where we end up.” Patrick finally cuts him some slack and drops his gaze, looking down at their hands. “I love you, David. That means taking care of you as much as I can.”

He nods, fighting to keep a neutral expression when all his body wants to do is crumple under the weight of Patrick's words. 

"In my defense, though, I definitely did tell you that they were vitamins."

"I can't be expected to remember everything." He rolls his eyes to cover up the way he sniffs, how his vision is blurring. "But I guess that explains why you would only give me one a day."

“Yeah,” Patrick grins. “But hopefully I make up for it with all the other parts of our relationship.”

He shrugs. “I don’t know, I’ve kind of gotten used to the idea of you bringing me candy every morning.”

Patrick ducks his head and tugs David’s hand up, pressing a kiss against his knuckle. “I’m sorry to shatter your expectations like that. I know it won’t be the same, but I can leave some for you while I’m gone? In the interest of keeping your bones nice and strong.”

He nods, breathing through the rearrangement of his life around the fact that Patrick wants to take of him like this, long-term, even from afar. “I can accept that.”

“But you’re really only supposed to eat one a day.”

“Mkay, that’s less sweet now.” He looks at Patrick, at the man that has wormed his way through every one of David's walls, who's built his own around David's heart not to keep it isolated, but to keep it safe. Nourished. "I love you too."

Patrick kisses him, chaste but lingering. "Now that we've established that I haven't been feeding you candy first thing in the morning, how about we revisit that idea of making some new memories tonight? I'm going to be so lonely in that hotel room all by myself."

He nods and pushes up so he can press Patrick into the mattress, can try to shower him with the kind of love that feels too deep to ever convey through language. He doesn't think this will be enough either (it will never be enough) but he wants to keep trying. He wants to make all of the memories he can with Patrick. 

The next morning, when he’s woken up far too early by his boyfriend getting ready to abandon him for half a week, he accepts the vitamin D gummy that is pressed into his palm. It’s not the reward of some exhilarating heist or the product of Patrick’s hard work in the kitchen, and it’s certainly not going to make up for being woken up at six to watch his boyfriend leave, but it’s juicy all the same.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> title from i choose you by sara bareilles, half because i love the song and half because it fits this fic in a stupid and wonderful way that i now fear i will never find again


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